Improvement in fire-arms



E. WHITNEY.

Revolver.

Patented Aug. I 1, 1854.

UN TED STATES Pare-NT @FFICE.

ELI \VHITNEY, OF WHITNEYVILLE, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN FIRE-ARMS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELI WHITNEY, ot'Whitneyville,in the countyof NewHaven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Revolving-Breech Fire- Arms; and I do hereby declare thatthe foltiowing is a full, clear, and exact description tof theconstruction, character, and operation of the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, which make a part of this specification,in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pistol, showing thegeneral external appearance of the whole article. Fig. 2 is a view of alongitudinal section cut vertically through the center, showing theposition and connection of the several parts. Fig. 3 is a view of therear end of thechambered breech, showing theform and position of theratchet by which it is to be revolved, 860.

My improvement consists in so constructing and arranging the parts-as toenable me to revolve the chambered breech by pulling the trigger, andthen by continuing to pull the trigger lock the chambered breech anddischarge the pistol without the possibility ofdischarging it before thechambered breech has been revolved to its exact position and is firmlylocked, while all danger of revolving it too far is prevented by themanner in which thelockbolt is connected with the trigger, which, by

means of the dog or hand, revolves the chambered breech, and it cannotrecoil, because it \will be held firm in that direction by the dog orhand, and the fact that the sear cannot be tremoved from the cock-notchin the inner end of the hammer so as to discharge the pistol, exceptwhen the lock-bolt passes into the space to lock the chambered breech,renders accitdental discharge impossible when the wholeis in order foruse; and in making the frame all in one piece, with a top bar, not onlyto strengthen the frame, but also to serve as afoil for the comb of thehammer to strike against to prevent battering the eones, 85c. and in themanner of using the spring-lever catch and rod or mandrel with twonotches to hold the chambered breech in its place, and to hold the rodfrom falling out while removing or changing the chambered breech.

Imake the barrel A ofcast-steel,in the usual way for revolving-breechfire-arms, and attach it to the frame by a male and female screw, asseen at B, Fig. 2. I make the revolving chambered breech O ofcast-steel, with a cylindrical hole through its center longitudinally,to receive the rod or mandrel a a, which passes through the center ofthe front shield, b, and into the recoil-shield c, to sustain thechambered breech in the frame and to allow it to be revolved whennecessary; and I make five or more chambers in this breech for receivingthe charges, one of which is shown at (1, Figs. 1 and 2, and all fiveare indicated by the nipples or cones c c, &c., Fig. 3; and on itsperiphery, toward the rear end, 1 make an equal number of depressions orspaces, of the form shown atff, Fig. 1, (as best suited to receive thebo1ti,) to receive the locking-boltz', as shown at f, Fig. 2. On therear end of this chambered breech G, I make a number of notches (equalto the number of chambers) in the form of the teeth of a ratch-wheel, asshown at gg, 850., Fig. 3, in which the point of the dog or hand is towork to revolve it.

I make the hammer D in the usual way, except that upon the upper part Imakea comb, t, Fig. 1, to strike against the top bar, E, of the frame,as seen at t, Fig. 2, to prevent battering the cones or nipples orstriking the cap too hard at any time.

I make the sear h and locking-bolt i in one piece, which rocks on afulcrum-screw atj, so that when the hammerD is drawn back to theposition of being cocked, as seen in Fig. 1, the sear-spring K (beingstronger than the lockbolt spring It) will force the sear into thecocknotch tin the inner end of the hammer, and thereby force down thefront end, i, (in opposition to the spring 70,) and unlock the chamberedbreech, so thatit will be ready to be revolved (by pulling the trigger)to the position for being discharged.

I make the trigger F of the ring kind, as shown, with a projecting partin front, where it is acted on by a spring to throw the ringF forward,as shown at m, Fig. 2, and with a lever, n, projecting backward. To therear end ofthis lever 10, I attach, by a joint-pin, a dog, hand, orratchet, 0, the point of which works in the ratchet-wheel or notches gg, 850., Fig. 3, to revolve the chambered breech when the trigger F isdrawn back. This dog or hand 0 is pressed into these notches g g, &c.,by a spring, 1), the upper end of which presses against an inclinedplane, q, in the recoilshield, all as shown in red dots, &c., in Fig. 2.The trigger F works on a fulcrum-screw at r, so that when the ring isdrawn back the prominent part s will press against the spring It toforce the lock-bolt i into the space 1), to lock the chambered breechafter it has been revolved. This prominent part 8 may be made adjustableby a screw, or otherwise, so that it will always exert the proper amountof force on the spring k. The trigger-plate L is made of malleable ironand secured by screws in the usual way, or otherwise.

I make the frame E b H g G of malleable iron 'or other suitable metal bycasting it in one piece, so that the front and recoil-shields b and care firmlyattached to each other by the bottom'bar, H, and the top bar,E, while the top bar, E, also serves as a foil for the comb t of thehammer to strike against, as before described.

I make the rod or mandrel a a for holding the chambered breech in theframe with two notches at a, and u, and I make the head part flat on theside next the barrel, to keep the notched side in the right position. Tosecure this rod or mandrel in its place I use a springlever,M, with acatch, as at u. Thislever works on a fulcrum-screw ate, and the catch isthrown into the notches by the spring 20, so that when the chamberedbreech is in its place, as represented inthe drawings, the catch will beforced into the notch at u, to hold the rod firmly in its place, andwhen the rod is drawn out sufficiently to allow the chambered breech Oto be removedthe catch will be forced into the notch at a and preventthe rod from falling out. ,This lever is worked by the thumb or fingerapplied to the extremity next the trigger.

Having made and arranged the several parts, charged the chambers in thebreech, put on the caps, 800., to discharge the pistol I draw back thehammer in the usual way for cocking until the notch l in the inner endof th ehammer comes over the sear h, when the sear-spring K (beingstronger than the spring 7r) will force the sear into the notch Z, andof course force down the lock-bolt '6, and thus unlock the chamberedbreech. I then pull the trigger F, when the lever 11. will force the,dog or hand 0 into one of the notches g g, &c., Fig. 3, and revolve thechambered breech to the proper position to discharge the pistol, atwhich time the space f will be exactly over the lock-bolt t, all asrepresented in Fig. 2, when the prominent part 8 of the trigger F willpress against the spring 70 and force the lock-bolt i up and lock thechambered breech, in doing which it of necessity draws the sear h out ofthe notch l, when the mainspring I will force forward the hammer D toignite the cap e (allas shown in Fig. 2),and discharge the pistol. Whenthe trigger F is released the spring m will again throw itforward to theposition shown in Fig. l, which will draw the dog or hand 0 down, sothat the spring 1) will press its point into the next lower notch g g,&c., Fig. 3, on the rear end of .the chambered breech, and be ready foragain cocking, revolving, locking, and discharging the pistol.

\Nhat Iclaim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The method of constructing the scar and lock-bolt in one piece,combined with the method of operating the same by the trigger and spring70, so that the sear cannot release the hammer except when the chamberedbreech will be firmly locked in its proper position, when constructed,combined, and. operated substantially as herein described.

2. The combination of the trigger with the spring 70 and the lock-bolti, (when the lockbolt is of the same piece as the sear,) for locking thechambered breech and discharging the pistol, when constructed andcombined subi stantially as herein described.

3. The combination of the three springs to, m, and 70, (when they areall secured with one screw,) with the catch-lever M, trigger F, and

the lock-bolt i and sear h, when the whole is constructed, arranged, andcombined substantially as herein described.

' ELI WHITNEY. Witnesses:

S. RANsoM, R. FITZGERALD.

